The present invention is directed generally and in various embodiments to systems and methods for facilitating information retrieval in a telecommunications environment.
Telecommunications service providers often employ various software systems that allow for provisioning of various types of services. For example, a system is employed by many telecommunications service providers that assists in provisioning new circuits between telephone central offices (COs) or between telephone COs and customer provided equipment (CPE). Also, many telecommunications service providers employ a work control system that is used to automate many work assignments that are required to install and repair client facilities, trunks, special service circuits, and business and residential lines. A service (or work) order that requests the provisioning (e.g. installation, change, or disconnection) of a service is usually input into the systems to identify the service that needs provisioned, when it needs provisioned, and what action or actions must be taken to provision the service.
Oftentimes, a user of the above-described systems, such as a technician, is assigned a task that requires the user to consult information, such as a provisioning document, that is external to the systems. For example, a technician may need to consult an information source that is resident on a web page or in a paper document. In order to access such external sources, the user has to open, for example, a web browser, type in a link to the requested information, and then access the requested information.